lower back disk trouble?

Question

i was in a car accident, and i went to the chiropractor, and he said that he is worried about the disk in my lower back. i had a mri done and it just showed that the fluid in my spine is dehydrated. i have an appt with a surgeon tomm. what do you think is going on? i had the accident 2 months ago, and i keep knots anywhere from the size of golf balls to the size of a softball. and it hurts when i lay down, its like there is a catch in my lower back. and sometimes the back pain is so bad it hurts down into my right leg, heat /cold therapy does no good. i had the tins unit and ultrasound done for a month and neither did any good. i just dont know what to expect going to the dr tomm... if anyone else has had this problem or know anything else about it. please give me some advice. THANK YOU!!!!

Answer 1

i am a chiropractor and specialize in spine related injuries. the disc acts as both a cushion and a spacer between each vertebrae. if a disc is bulging/herniated, that bulge can put pressure on the nerves exiting between each vertebra which causes a "pinched nerve." also if the disc is wearing out (getting thinner) you lose the space between the vertebra, which leaves less room for those nerves to exit--and again can pinch a nerve. the nerves in your cervical spine (neck) go all the way down your arm while the nerves in your lumbar spine (low back) form the sciatic nerve which runs all the way down your leg. if any of these are "pinched" they can cause pain, numbess, tingling, weakness wherever these nerves go (down arms/legs).

as a chiropractor i see this type of scenario on a daily basis. for those who have degenerative disc disease, disc herniation, disc bulging, etc.--normal chiropractic care can usually help with those problems. but there are also many people out there that have had this problem for many years and can't find relief with anything they try--including chiropractic.

but now there is a treatment that is perfect for your situation and the best part is: it's non-surgical and non-invasive. if you haven't heard of it yet it is called spinal decompression. this type of treatment focuses on disc injuries and the problems they cause. i use the DRX9000 spinal decompression system in my office and it works wonders for people with these types of injuries (approx. 90% successful). the DRX9000 is fda approved and is the best decompression system available (there are cheap knock-offs that don't give the same results).

my recommendation would be to see a chiro, especially if you've never tried it before-just to see what they have to say. also do some research on this treatment and then contact someone (usually a chiro) who uses it in their office. i would just google "DRX9000" to find info on it and doctors in your area who may have it. this treament is able to encourage the disc to go back to it's normal orientation and also rebuild its height--which then takes the pressure off whatever nerve it is compressing. pain meds, nerve blocks (like you had), cortisone shots, epidurals won't do anything to solve the problem--all they do is cover it up and they become less and less effective over time. surgery AT BEST is 50% successful and usually doesn't solve the problem since most people need another surgery 5-10 years down the road for the same issue. it's typically a viscious cycle. remember: surgery is always an option, so try something prior to surgery to see if you can avoid it--cause once you do the surgery there is no going back.

this treatment is extremely effective for degenerative disc disease, disc bulging, herniation, etc. and also sciatica type of cases, especially if you haven't had surgery yet. i've had many patients who were scheduled for surgery, tried this treatment as a last resort, and then ended up cancelling their surgery altogether after treatment was completed. it really does work and that's what my recommendation would be for you. good luck and hopefully this gives insight to others experiencing similar problems--there is a solution!!!

Answer 2

run Ccleaner, on machines where the user did no house keeping i reclaimed as much as 3 GB from temp files alone. uninstall programs that you don't need/use/have better updated versions of. because of how data is written to the disk, and how it uses sectors, defragmenting a really fragmented disk can squeeze out some more space. the D: drive is probably your recovery partition. there should be a utility to back it up on disks, once you have the disks, know they work, and are sure you will not damage or lose them you can format the D: drive and add it to your C: take your personal data off and onto CD/DVD/jump drive/external drive. if your running vista: open a command prompt [hold "windows flag" and "R" to bring up the Run and enter cmd.exe] in the command line type: compcln.exe it will remove files needed to uninstall service packs so think that one over before you do it. ultimately you may need to get a higher capacity drive.

Answer 3

It sounds like you have blown a disk. The pain you feel going down your leg (and probably threw your butt as well) is called sciatica...the disk is pinching or putting pressure on the sciatic nerve. If your doctor is sending you to a surgeon then he or she will probably decide weather you should have surgery. They may decide to have you do physical therapy first. If they do surgery you will either have the part of the disk that is bulging or blown removed to relieve pressure off your sciatic nerve, or they may fuse your disk so that it will no longer move and become irritated. If this is the case, you have already lost most or nearly all of the disk anyway. The disk is a cushion that is between your vertibra. The surgeon will explain eveything to you tomarrow. good luck

Answer 4

From your description it sounds like you have either an entrapped and/or damaged spinal nerve, or a Herniated Disk.

What is a herniated disk?

Herniated disks are most common in the lumbar spine--the part of your backbone between the bottom of your ribs and your hips. Disks are the soft "cushions" between the bones of the spine. The disks in the spine let you move your backbone.

When a disk between two bones in the spine presses on the nerves around the backbone, it's called a herniated disk. The word "herniate" (say: her-nee-ate) means to bulge or to stick out. Sometimes this is called a ruptured disk.

What are the signs of a herniated disk?

When part of a disk presses on a nerve, it can cause pain in both the back and the legs. The location of the pain depends on which disk is weak. How bad the pain is depends on how much of the disk is pressing on the nerve. In most people with herniated disks, the pain spreads over the buttocks and goes down the back of one thigh and into the calf. Some people have pain in both legs. Some people's legs or feet feel numb or tingly.

The pain from a herniated disk is usually worse when you're active and gets better when you're resting. Coughing, sneezing, sitting, driving and bending forward may make the pain worse. The pain gets worse when you make these movements because they put more pressure on the nerve.

People with painful herniated disks often try to change positions to reduce the pain. You may have found that holding yourself up with your hands while you are sitting helps the pain. Shifting your weight to one side may also help.

How does my doctor know I have a herniated disk?

After asking you questions and giving you an exam, your doctor may take x-rays and other pictures to see whether you have a herniated disk.

What can be done for the pain of a herniated disk?

Your doctor may suggest medicine for the pain. You can probably be more active after you take the pain medicine for 2 days. Becoming active will help you get better faster. If your pain is severe, your doctor may suggest that you rest in bed for 1 or 2 days.

If the pain medicine doesn't help, your doctor may give you a shot in your backbone. This might stop your pain. You may need more than 1 shot.

Sometimes stretching of the spine, by your doctor or a chiropractor, can help the pain.

Will exercises help the pain?

Yes, exercises can be helpful. Begin by stretching. Bend over forward and bend to the sides. Start these exercises after your back is a little stronger and doesn't hurt as much. The goal of exercise is to make your back and stomach muscles stronger. This will ease the pressure on your disk and make you hurt less. Ask your doctor about exercises for your back. Your doctor may want you to see a physical therapist to learn about safe back exercises.

What about my posture?

Good posture (standing up straight, sitting straight, lifting with your back straight) can help your back. Bend your knees and hips when you lift something, and keep your back straight. Hold an object close to your body when you carry it. If you stand for a long time, put one foot on a small stool or box for a while. If you sit for a long time, put your feet on a small stool so your knees are higher than your hips. Don't wear high-heeled shoes. Don't sleep on your stomach. These things can put more pressure on your disks. The pictures on this page show good posture in standing and lifting.

What are my chances of getting better?

Your chances are good. Most people with a herniated disk are better in about 4 weeks. Sometimes it takes longer. If you still have pain or numbness after 4 to 6 weeks, or if your signs get worse, talk with your doctor. Sometimes it takes surgery to relieve pain.

If you have trouble going to the bathroom or have weight loss, pain at night or more pain or weakness than usual in your backbone, tell your doctor right away. These might be the signs of a more serious problem.

SURGICAL TREATMENT:

Open diskectomy and microdiskectomy are the gold standards in surgical treatment for herniated disk. Minimally invasive treatments exist, such as chemonucleolysis and percutaneous arthroscopic diskectomy, but their success rates don't equal those of the two types of diskectomy. Researchers are working on less invasive treatments that provide a viable option between conservative treatments and open decompression procedures.

NEW TREATMENTS IN TESTING INCLUDE:

Nucleoplasty. This procedure uses heat-producing (bipolar radiofrequency) technology to create an energy field that decreases pressure within a disk's nucleus. Decreased pressure within a disk can provide pain relief. Because the energy field dissolves disk tissue without creating excessive heat, damage to nearby structures is minimized.

Oxygen-ozone therapy. This therapy involves injecting a gas mixture of oxygen and ozone into a herniated disk. The treatment can limit pain and inflammation by reducing the disk's volume. When used in conjunction with corticosteroid injections, oxygen-ozone therapy may enhance the effect of the corticosteroids. Oxygen-ozone therapy is performed on an outpatient basis and doesn't require anesthesia.

Disk and nucleus replacement. In this procedure, a diseased disk is replaced with a prosthetic functional alternative. Often made of metal and plastic, these replacement disks were developed to treat the pain associated with degenerative disk disease. This is a new procedure, however, and long-term results of this procedure are still uncertain. Disk replacement has been proposed as an alternative to spinal fusion. Disk nucleus replacement is also available and is proposed to relieve pain resulting from the nucleus. This also is a new procedure without a proven track record or known long-term results. Some researchers suggest that, in the future, nucleus replacement may be performed in conjunction with a diskectomy to maintain the structure and function of the spine.

Biological repair. These are techniques that seek to repair or regenerate a disk through the use of proteins that promote the growth of cells (growth factor) and tissue engineering. Injecting growth factor into a disk showing early signs of degeneration could trigger the disk's cells to repair themselves. More research is needed before these techniques can be tried in humans.